KGD 2006: Metal Gear Acid 2

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A fresh look at the anticipated sequel.

By Juan Castro

We've written quite a bit on Metal Gear Acid 2 in the past, from its first showing at TGS 2005 to the recent demo here in San Francisco. Today, Konami showed off the latest build at its Gamers Day event in downtown SF. Konami revealed nothing new, unfortunately, but we still took the game for a spin.

For those who may not know, Acid 2 is the sequel to MG Acid, the first Metal Gear game on the PSP and the only one to feature card-based strategic gameplay. The original game, while interesting, threw most people for a loop. After all, what's a Metal Gear title without actually slinking around corners and silently killing a whole warehouse full of terrorists?

Many found the game to be too limiting, and ultimately a little to mellow, to live up to the Metal Gear name. Well, Konami has taken these gripes and developed a sequel that's surprisingly different from its predecessor. While retaining the strategic core that made the first game unique, Acid 2 offers a little more freedom in terms of control. It's also a more flexible game, offering a massive deck cards to plan offensive and defensive maneuvers. Lastly, it feels like a more accessible game, thanks to a newly designed interface.

Furthermore, the game now has a radically different look. It looks far better, to start, but it also has a hyperactive cell-shaded look that lends it a distinctly comic-book like aesthetic. Just look at some of these screens; it's definitely a big step away from what we saw in the original. Also, everything animates smoothly at this point, with little slowdown even when things get somewhat hectic. The design for the characters, both good and "evil," has also undergone changes. And from what we've seen, the changes look to be for the better.

With so much new content in the game, Konami representatives have stated they feel Acid 2 is "exponentially better" than the original - something that should make fans (even non-fans) very happy. The hope being, of course, to provide an experience that finally clicks with the traditional Metal Gear Solid-loving gamer. Whether this works or not remains to be seen, but from what we've played, Acid 2 has a far greater chance of scoring well with Snake's rabid fan base.

As far as the Solid Eye peripheral, it looks like it'll be an acquired taste. In case you don't know what it is, the Solid Eye is an attachment for the PSP that will ship with Acid 2. Gamers are supposed to stick on their systems to view the game (and certain video clips) in 3D. The effect works well, actually, but there's a chance it will cause raging headaches for certain users. Having said that, it definitely offers the illusion of 3D, so anyone craving a portable 3D game, well, here it is.

In short, it's looking good. Certainly better than the first game. Also, the fact that you can upload pictures taken from MGS3: Subsistence, not to mention import cards from the first Acid game, is downright rad.